In the postmatch interview room following Eden Prairie’s gutsy five-set victory over Rogers in the championship match of the first MSHSL-sanctioned boys volleyball state tournament, Eagles captain and senior right-side hitter Avi Kommalapati let slip the secret to his team’s success. Not yelling or trash-talk or posturing. Smiles.
Eden Prairie completed a wire-to-wire run as the top team in boys volleyball with a 21-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-20, 15-9 victory over Rogers on Thursday in front of a supportive crowd at St. Thomas.
The Eagles were ranked No. 1 the first week of the season and remained in the top spot all year. They had built legitimate expectations for a state title, but tall and talented Rogers had other ideas.
The Royals came from behind in each of the first two sets, taking a 2-0 lead. They rallied again in the third set and twice served for the whole enchilada, but Eden Prairie wouldn’t budge. The Eagles won the last three points to take the crucial third set and rode the resulting momentum to the state championship.
And they grinned and laughed the entire time.
“When we were down 2-0, in the huddle I was saying all we need are smiles,” said Kommalapati, who led Eden Prairie with 19 kills. “I never like to see my teammates mad or sad. Smiles are what got us through this.”
Fellow captain Gabe Hernandez added 16 kills for the Eagles, and setter Deion Lange orchestrated the comeback with 41 set assists.
Lange credited Eagles coach Steph Chapek’s style for preparing the team to come back.
